New Neighbor (1953)

[Music] [Applause] [Music] hello I'm George Hicks for a good many years now I've been bringing you stories on the radio about the people and events that make our America the great nation that it is now I want to tell you another of these stories a story of what it takes to create a new steel mill right from scratch what does it take to build a steel mill many things and many people the mill I'm talking about bears the name of a man whose story is also typical of America he was born the son of a coal miner got his education through his own efforts Rose through the ranks in the steel industry he is Benjamin F Fairless chairman of the board and chief EX executive officer of United States Steel Corporation which has named its new Mill for him the Fairless works this steel mill is located in Pennsylvania on the Delaware River and this is the way the engineers saw it before work began these are the or docks where raw materials are unloaded iron ore is stored here coal goes into the coke ens and a coal chemical plant iron is made in these blast furnaces and converted to steel and cast into ingots at nine Open Hearth furnaces the ingots are heated for the first rolling in these soaking pit furnaces at the primary Mill they are then rolled into smaller sections called blooms and slabs the slabs are rolled into coils of strip on an 80in wide hot strip Mill here is where the coil strip is cold rolled into sheets for automobile bodies and Tin plate blooms are rolled into billets and small slabs on another continuous Mill here is a bar Mill where some of the billets become bars other billets are rolled into narrow steel strip called skelp which is made into pipe and to complete the mill a water treatment plant a Powerhouse Laboratories and general offices the plant is so laid out as to allow for three-fold expansion of facilities in the future tomorrow's as well as today's needs are planned for and built for what did it take to build this mill first of all it took engineering planning and designing was a big challenge for Fairless works is the largest fully integrated steel mill ever to be built at one time this planning wasn't accomplished over night it involved years of discussion study and work by the engineering department in cooperation with the commercial and operating departments a site was chosen upon which to build the mill the Big Bend of the Delaware River involving more than 3900 Acres was picked for a number of reasons first of all the mill would be near many users of Steel then two being on the East Coast would be an advantage in receiving raw materials by barge and ship and sending out Steel by water there were excellent rail facilities and some of the finest Highway routs in the eastern part of the United States there was plenty of fresh water available which is essential to Steel making operations and there were plenty of people in the community who would be good steel makers the beginning of actual construction was marked by groundbreaking ceremonies on March 1st 1951 United States Steel was given an official welcome to the community by the state of Pennsylvania as well as by the neighboring state of New Jersey Mr Fess in his address said to the new neighbors of Pennsylvania and New Jersey you have already made us feel that we are welcome and established members of this community and I hope with all my heart that you may always have reason to be as proud of us as we are proud and privileged to be your neighbor Mr FIS dug the first spadeful of [Music] Earth a core of bulldozers and Earth moving equipment went into action and the building of the new steel mill began [Music] what did it take to build this steel mill it took more than 10 million cubic yards of dirt to build up low spots for proper drainage the Earth was borrowed leaving Pits on the site for future slide disposal this had to be done before construction could start [Music] it took steel 25,000 H beams were driven deep into the Earth to give a solid base upon which to build foundations [Music] it took concrete 700,000 cubic yards of it were poured for these [Music] foundations it took experienced men to build furnaces and ovens and buildings [Music] la [Music] [Music] [Music] it takes water to run a steel mill enough water is used in this Mill to supply a city of 1, 375,000 people it is cleaned as it comes from the Delaware River purified again before it is returned this meant building the most Ultra Modern treatment plant that can be found in any steel mill in the world it takes power a lot of electric power enough power is used here to supply a city of 450,000 people it meant building high tension power [Applause] lines it takes Transportation 75 M of railway lines 20 mi of Roads and several miles of conveyors were built just to move materials within the [Music] plant The Ore coal Limestone Dolomite and other materials used by this Mill each year would fill a single freight train stretching from Philadelphia to the southern tip of Florida it took 10,000 men to build this steel mill but these were only the men working at the site actually some 200 Prime contractors were needed each of these in turn handed out subcontracts to 10 other firms on the average and many of these use subcontractors many of these contractors were small businesses having fewer than 500 employees in fact two contractors employed only two workers a piece one other was an individual with no one else on his payroll so behind the 10,000 men working at the site were nearly three million men in 27 different states who played some part in building the Machinery the equipment and the facilities yes more than a 100,000 companies of every possible size were employed in building this Mill it stands as another Monument to American Enterprise and the close cooperation between big business and small business it took more than 880,000 engineering drawings to guide the construction and installation work but drawings alone were not enough it took the continuous activity of a core of engineers with skill and knowledge to supervise the transfer of Concepts on paper into concrete and steel a new steel mill acts as a magnet that can be expected to attract other new Industries to the area this means New Capital Investments new job opportunities new employment new payroll a new steel mill also attracts new housing and Fairless Hills is typical of the growing new communities it was designed by one of the nation's leading Authorities on urban planning such a new community brings with it new schools and churches new stores medical facilities and Recreation areas and a growing Community offers many more job opportunities the effect of a new steel mill upon a whole area is tremendous and as a new neighbor it was important to see that everyone in the area understood and appreciated that this effect was good it meant talking to as many people as possible singly and in groups it meant listening explaining answering questions clearing up misconceptions it meant welcoming visitors to the site of the [Music] mill taking them around and explaining the mill to them all this is part of being a good neighbor and part of being a good neighbor is sitting down with other neighbors and discussing common interests working with planning commissions School boards hospital and Welfare committees and many others in a Cooperative effort to solve the problems that bear upon Community welfare when neighbors meet each other halfway these problems are more easily solved and the whole Community benefit it takes men to operate a steel mill even while construction of Fairless Works was in progress the first of the 6,000 people needed to run the mill were being hired most of these came from nearby communities steel making is a new career for the majority of them they were trained by experienced steel makers who had come from other United States Steel plants throughout the country sessions were held with key personnel to build a training program which would equip new employees for their new jobs and careers meanwhile buildings continued to take shape and equipment was installed in those buildings which were complete [Music] Mr Fess made frequent visits to look over the 3900 Acres this was land that once raised broccoli and spinach but 20 months after ground was broken a steel Mill was Rising however much was yet to be done huge Earth moving equipment still crawled over the brown Earth some foundations were still being poured one building was still but little more than an empty shell of corrugated steel considerable steel making equipment stood waiting to be installed true much was yet to be done but much had also been accomplished and there were unmistakable signs that the completion of the mill was not too far off already scrap iron was stockpiled into huge ridges already regiments of Ingot molds were standing on special railroad cars waiting to be filled with molten steel the five Stan cold reduction Mill the fastest Mill of its type designed to operate at 7,000 ft per minute or at the express train speed of 80 mph was ready to go into operation the most modern smoke and gas cleaning equipment available had been installed on The Open Hearth furnaces to help keep the atmosphere clear for our neighbors a mountain of ore stood ready for the blast furnaces a Coke oven was lighted brought up to operating temperature and Coke was pushed yes Mr Fairless found reason to offer congratulations to men typical of the many who were helping to build the new steel mill in Bucks County Pennsylvania As Time moved on the profiles of furnaces and Mills and installations more and more closely resembl the way the engineers saw them before work began [Music] a [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] completion of the largest fully integrated steel mill to be built at one time was not far off on December 11th 1952 less than 2 years after the first Spade full of dirt was lifted from the earth steel making began this memorable day started with the christening of the number two Blast Furnace by Mrs Benjamin F Fess the Ingenuity and achievements of the men who help build and are continuing to build American industry never ceased to amaz me my pride in being associated with such men has taken on today a new significance and I wish to thank those men and to express my sincere appreciation for the privilege of sharing in the progress of this great steel mill which Bears my husband's name it is with a sense a deep sense of Honor that has been conferred upon me that I Chen this Blast Furnace the Hazel furnace of peress works the tradition of the steel industry is that a furnace be named for a woman and so this furnace was called Hazel for Mrs feris [Music] in the same tradition the number one blast furnace was named for Nancy the eldest of the Fairless grandchildren and so Nancy was chosen to light up her furnace ladies and gentlemen to say that I am pleased and proud of the honor which has been paid here today day to the ladies of the Fairless family would be putting it mildly very mild among steel men of course a blast furnace is always known as a lady and it is named for one not because the furnace is a thing of shapely Beauty exactly but because it is inclined at best to be somewhat temperamental in this case however I want to assure you that if the Hazel furnace which we christened a few moments ago and the Nancy furnit which we are about to light should happen to possess the same gentle dispositions and the same energetic characteristics that have been displayed in life by the ladies whose name they bear then Fairless Works will never have much trouble with its arm and so now we come to the moment that all of us have been waiting for no one can say how long this furnace that we are light lighting here will burn hopefully that will be for many many many years to come but as long as it does burn it will shine as a living tribute to to the vision of the man who have conceived designed and built this plant and to their firm determination that America shall never lack the steel that it needs to grow on nor the strength that it needs to De to defend its freedom ladies and gentlemen I shall delay that moment no longer let me introduce my eldest granddaughter miss Nancy per I just stand there holding [Applause] the the climax of the day was the pouring of the first Fairless work steel from one of the nine Open Hearts a highlight of this ceremony was the extending of congratulations and thanks to The Men Who conceived and planned fish works and good good wishes to the men who will supervise its operation the big moment has arrived you are about to witness the tapping of the first heat of steel made in the new perilous Works which Bears our family name and I assure you we are very proud this moment Carol will you come forward in the United States Steel Corporation everyone must obey safety rules one of the fundamentals is that if a Workman is associated with the handling of hot metal they must wear safety gloves so Carol if you wish to become a steel worker it's necessary for you to obey all the safety rules therefore you must put on the gloves Carol then set off the jet which tapped the Open Heart and the first Fairless work steel gushed into the lad this steel mill can produce 1,800,000 tons of steel a year customers large and small will finish it into products for our National Defense they will also make it into pipelines Freight cars Bridges stoves automobiles refrigerators telephone wire toys and the thousands of other things we need and use in our daily living this was the beginning with this beginning the new neighbor on the Delaware was in business in the words of Benjamin Fess this is a plant that will go on for 50 or perhaps a 100 years to come pouring steel into the ribs of our nation and wealth into its economic veins [Music]